Alex is Co-Chair of Osler's Mergers and Acquisitions Group. He regularly acts on Canada’s most high profile and complex transactions, delivering practical advice to private and public companies, private equity sponsors, and special committees on a diverse range of strategic mandates across various industries.
His private equity deal experience includes acting for Blackstone, iCON Infrastructure, Sculptor, Paine Schwartz, Inspirit, Platinum Equity, Sterling Partners and Penfund. He has advised on numerous REIT transactions including on behalf of Dream, Koch Real Estate Investments, SmartCentres, KingSett and Ventas.
Alex has completed two secondments to the Office of Mergers and Acquisitions of the Ontario Securities Commission, first in 2012 where he helped develop a new rule on shareholder rights plans as well as proposed amendments to the early warning regime, and again in 2017 where he was one of the primary drafters of the CSA Staff Notice on conflict of interest transactions (Multilateral CSA Staff Notice 61-302 Staff Review and Commentary on Multilateral Instrument 61-101).
Alex is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, where he teaches Mergers and Acquisitions in the Global Professional Master of Laws (GPLLM) program. He has also lectured at Osgoode Professional Development.
In 2020 Alex was recognized as a Lexpert Rising Star: Leading Lawyers Under 40.
Representative Work
Public Company Mergers & Acquisitions
- Battery Ventures in its $150 million acquisition of TrueContext Corporation
- Trilogy in its take-private of Indigo Books & Music
- Fusion Pharmaceuticals in its acquisition by AstraZeneca
- Xos in its business combination with ElectraMeccanica
- Dream Industrial REIT in its $5.9 billion acquisition, in partnership with a leading global sovereign wealth fund, of Summit Industrial Income REIT
- VAALCO in its US$307 million business combination with TransGlobe
- MindBeacon in its acquisition by CloudMD
- Koch Real Estate Investments in connection with its preferred equity financing of the Canderel-led $5.7 billion acquisition of Cominar REIT
- Spire Global in its $204.2 million acquisition of exactEarth
- The Levy Family in theScore’s US$2 billion acquisition by Penn National Gaming
- Drax Group plc on its $385 million acquisition of Pinnacle Renewable Energy
- Koch Equity Development LLC on its preferred equity financing of the proposed Cerberus-led acquisition of Dorel Industries
- Dream Global REIT on its $6.2 billion acquisition by Blackstone
- Entertainment One on its US$4 billion acquisition by Hasbro
- Genworth Financial on its $2.4 billion agreement for Brookfield Business Partners to acquire Genworth Financial’s stake in Genworth MI Canada Inc.
- Morgan Stanley on its acquisition of Solium Capital for $1.1 billion
- South32 on its $2.1 billion acquisition of Arizona Mining
- Mitel on its sale to affiliates of Searchlight Capital Partners for US$2 billion, on its acquisition of ShoreTel for US$530 million, and on its proposed $1.96 billion acquisition of Polycom
- Blackstone Property Partners on its $3.8 billion acquisition of Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust
- The Central Group Alberta Ltd. in the acquisition of Central Fund of Canada Limited by Sprott Inc.
- Stryker Corporation on its acquisition of NOVADAQ Technologies Inc.
- SmartREIT on its $1.1 billion acquisition of all of the assets and liabilities of OneREIT
- Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc. on its $1.4 billion acquisition by Vail Resorts
- iCON Infrastructure on its $480 million acquisition of Capstone Infrastructure
- Canadian Oil Sands Limited on its agreement to support Suncor Energy Inc.’s amended offer valued at $6.6 billion
- Lithium Americas Corp. on its all- stock merger with Western Lithium USA Corporation
- Shoppers Drug Mart on its $12.4 billion acquisition by Loblaw Companies
- Valeant Pharmaceuticals on its arrangements with Pershing Square and on its merger proposal to Allergan, as well as Canadian counsel on its $11 billion acquisition of Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.
- Sterling Partners on its $590 million acquisition of MOSAID Technologies Inc.
- London Stock Exchange Group plc on its proposed merger with TMX Group Inc.
- GlobeStar Mining Corporation on its $186 million acquisition by Perilya Ltd.
Private Company Mergers & Acquisitions
- Newsfile in its sale to TMX Group
- Chorus Aviation in the sale of its Regional Aircraft Leasing Segment
- iCON Infrastructure in its investment in QSL
- Recursion in its acquisition of Valence Discovery for US$47.5 million
- Recursion in its agreement to acquire Cyclica for US$40 million
- Drax Group in the acquisition of Princeton Standard Pellet Corporation’s pellet plant
- smartTrade in its acquisition of TickTrade
- Alliance HeathCare Services in its US$820 million acquisition by Akumin
- KingSett Capital on its sale of VersaCold Logistics to TorQuest Partners
- Richardson Financial Group in the sale of Richardson GMP to GMP Capital Inc.
- Concert Infrastructure on its acquisition of a majority interest in Iqaluit Airport
- Platinum Equity Advisors on its acquisition of Livingston International
- Maple Leaf Foods Inc. on its acquisition of select poultry assets from Cericola Farms
- Entertainment One on its acquisition of the remaining 49% minority interest in The Mark Gordon Company for US$209 million and related financings for the acquisition, on its $225 million acquisition of Alliance Films, and on its US$215 milion proposed acquisition of Audio Network
- Marlin Equity Partners on its acquisition of Longview Solutions
- Moelis Capital Partners on its acquisition of MXI Technologies Ltd.
- Penfund Management Limited on its acquisition of Mevotech
- Ventas Inc. on its $980 million acquisition of 29 independent living seniors housing communities across Canada from Holiday Retirement Corp.
Special Committee Mandates
- Special Committee of Tricon Residential in its US$3.5 billion acquisition by Blackstone
- Shopify Founder and CEO, Tobi Lütke in his proposal to modernize the company’s governance and multi-class share capital structure
- Power Financial on its reorganization transaction with Power Corporation
- Goldcorp on its US$10 billion acquisition by Newmont Mining
- Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. on its dual class share capital reorganization
- Inmet Mining Corporation in response to a $5.1 billion unsolicited offer by First Quantum Minerals Ltd.
- Lakeside Steel on its $100 million acquisition by JMC Steel
- Pacific Exploration and Production on its restructuring with Catalyst Group
- A TSX-listed company in relation to a proposed management buyout
- A TSX-listed company in relation to a proposed insider bid
- A TSX-listed company in relation to a proposed related party financing
- A TSX-listed company in related to a proposed acquisition
Strategic Investments/PIPEs (Private Investments in Public Equity)
- Lead investor in its strategic placement in Aimia
- Chorus Aviation in investments by Brookfield, NordStar, AIMCo, Air Canada and Fairfax Financial
- Koch Strategic Platforms in its US$100 million investment in Standard Lithium
- Chorus Aviation in its $85 million bought deal offering of 5.75% senior unsecured debentures
- Chorus Aviation on its bought deal offerings of convertible debentures, hybrid debentures, common shares and warrants as well as private placements to NordStar, AIMCo, Air Canada and Fairfax Financial
- Hale Capital on its investment in Midway Gold Corporation
Capital Markets
- Numerous public offerings of equity and debt securities, both for companies and underwriters.
Latest Insights
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Osler Update Jul 18, 2024
Corporate transparency registers: what private companies need to know as requirements get stricter across Canada
Requirements for private companies to disclose corporate ownership information on “transparency registers” have swept across Canada. We explain...
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Osler Update Mar 11, 2024
Ontario Capital Markets Tribunal clarifies considerations for a private placement in the face of an unsolicited takeover bid in Aimia
The OSC has provided helpful guidance in assessing whether a private placement undertaken in the face of a take-over bid is an improper defensive...
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Osler Update Dec 11, 2023
Impact of transparency register requirements on financial sponsors
In recent years, new requirements for private companies to disclose corporate ownership information have proliferated across Canada.
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Osler Update Dec 11, 2023
Private to public and back again
Canadian initial public offering (IPO) activity boomed from 2018 to 2021, with transaction volumes peaking in 2021.
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Awards and Recognition
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Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business: Recognized in Corporate/Commercial
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Lexpert Rising Stars: Leading Lawyers Under 40: Recognized as a Rising Star (2020)
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IFLR 1000: The Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms: Recognized in M&A (Notable Practitioner)
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Best Lawyers in Canada: Recognized in Mergers and Acquisitions Law
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Thomson Reuters: “Stand-out Lawyer”
Media Mentions
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Osler News Oct 3, 2024
Osler ranked top Canadian M&A law firm for first nine months of 2024
Osler is proud to be ranked as the #1 law firm in the Canadian M&A league tables published by Bloomberg and LSEG (formerly Refinitiv) for the...
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Osler News Jul 5, 2024
Osler ranked top Canadian M&A law firm for first half of 2024
Osler is proud to be ranked as the #1 law firm in the Canadian M&A league tables published by Bloomberg and LSEG (formerly Refinitiv) for the...
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Media Mentions Jun 23, 2024
Canadian lawyers eyeing ‘robust’ deal scene for rest of 2024 — ALM Law.com
There are deals yet to come in 2024, despite a slow first half of the year. At least, that’s the consensus opinion gathered by Gail J. Cohen after...
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Osler News Jan 12, 2024
Osler tops Canadian M&A league table rankings for 2023
Osler is proud to be ranked as the #1 Canadian law firm in the M&A league tables by value for Canada published by Mergermarket for full-year...
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Credentials
Education
- University of Toronto, J.D.
- London School of Economics, M.Sc.
- University of Toronto, B.A. (Hons.)
Languages
- English
- Polish
Professional Affiliations
- Law Society of Ontario
- Canadian Bar Association
- Ontario Bar Association